*This lecture has finished.
- Lecturer: Ueda Noriyuki
(Professor, Liberal Arts Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology) - Date: Thursday, February 20, 2014, 12:15-1:30 pm (Doors open at 11:45 am)
- Venue: Kabayama-Matsumoto Room, International House of Japan
- Language: Japanese (without English interpretation)
- Admission: 1,000 yen (Students: 500 yen, IHJ members: Free)
- (Reservation required, seating: 70) *Lunch is NOT included.
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Almost three years have passed since the March 11 Tohoku earthquake. In reality, more than 30,000 people are committing suicide in Japan almost every year, more than the total number of missing and dead from the quake. Dr. Ueda stresses the importance of turning this “society of anxiety,” in which many people feel adrift and unsupported, into a “society of healing.”
What will be the foundations of relief or trust in this society full of anxiety, which has been going on since even before the quake? Dr. Ueda will talk about the keys for creating a people-friendly society, analyzing the roots of anxiety in adolescents as well as the role of adults by making comparison with cases overseas.
Ueda Noriyuki
Cultural Anthropologist. Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Ueda conducted fieldwork on folk religion in Sri Lanka from 1986 and put forward a concept of iyashi (healing) in Japan. He comments in the media on various issues of modern society. From 2005 to 2006, he gave lectures titled “Can Japanese Buddhism Survive? The Resurgence of Traditional Temples Amidst Contemporary Problems” at Stanford University. Recently he is involved in the renaissance of Japanese Buddhism; he met the 14th Dalai Lama in 2006 and their discussions were published. His book Ikiru Imi (The Meaning of Living; Iwanami Shinsho, 2005) was the most cited literature in university entrance examinations for more than 40 universities in 2006. His books include Kakusei no Nettowāku (Network of Awareness; Katatsumuri Sha, 1989), Gambare Bukkyō! (Get Up, Buddhism!; NHK Publishing, 2004) and Jihi no Ikari: Shinsaigo wo Ikiru Kokoro no Manejimento (Anger from Mercy: Mind Management in Post-Quake Life; Asahi Shimbun Publications, 2011).